Yesterday as I was sitting on Piedmont Road, too close to the car in front of me to change lanes and wishing I’d left just a little more space, I started thinking about how sometimes, we leave ourselves a way out in real life. We don’t go all in,because it’s easier to rationalize failing when we know we didn’t try our best.

In high school, I ran for class president and I remember telling my mom the morning of the race: I honestly don’t even want it. I’m just running because I said I would. And she told me she thought that I did want it, but maybe it felt scary to admit how badly I wanted it, in case I didn’t win.

And I find myself doing it still. I refuse to admit how badly I want a certain job. Or how excited I am about a project at work. I am afraid to admit the hopes I have for my future marriage and family. There’s a looming fear of failing that keeps me quiet.

Why?

I think we often do it because, unfortunately life isn’t perfect and sometimes things don’t come to fruition. Bad breakups keep us from sharing excitement about new relationships. Jobs we don’t get make us feel ashamed that we ever told anyone we’d made it to the next interview.

Or - even scarier - is the time you told someone you wanted to run a marathon and they replied, “you?”. Or when you admitted you wanted to be a chef or doctor or dancer and they laughed. When your dreams received a reaction of couldn’t, shouldn’t or wouldn’t.

When we are vulnerable and share, we put ourselves at risk for being exposed and receiving feedback – both negative and positive. And to mitigate the risk, we leave ourselves outs along the way.

I didn’t really want it anyway. I barely tried.I don't even like them.

But when we do this, we end up missing out on part of the experience. We take away from the fullness and beauty that comes from going all in. With great risk comes great reward. When you really want it, say it out loud. Let people in. Allow them to give feedback, affirm you and help you grow. You'll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish when you're not working in a silo, but instead in a community.

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